COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Jeremiah Smith steps onto the field at AT&T Stadium for Ohio State’s College Football Playoff matchup against Miami, he’ll bring two dangerous elements to the game: perfect health and significant motivation.
The Buckeyes’ star receiver revealed during media availability that he’s fully recovered from the quad injury that limited him during the latter part of the season – an injury that had been speculated about but not confirmed until now.
“I don’t know, Gillis, what’s scarier, the fact that Jeremiah Smith is healthy or the fact that he’s angry?” Stephen Means asked during the Buckeye Talk podcast, highlighting the dual threats Smith presents to the Hurricanes.
Smith’s quad injury clearly impacted his play down the stretch, though you wouldn’t know it from his stat line in the Big Ten Championship game where he still managed eight catches for 144 yards. But according to Smith himself, he’s now 100% healthy heading into the playoff.
The debate about which version of Smith is more dangerous – the physically unburdened one or the emotionally charged one – elicited different responses from the podcast crew.
“I think the angry part is more scary for me because one of them he was going to get healthy, right? Nobody’s body stays broken forever,” Means argued. “The anger is man-made, right? So, it’s just like, ‘Oh, just wait till I get healthy.’”
That anger stems from multiple sources: Ohio State’s loss in the Big Ten Championship, missing out on the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver, and now the chance to prove himself against his hometown team – a program filled with players he grew up with.
Smith has shown a pattern of bouncing back strong after disappointments. Following Ohio State’s losses last season, he responded with impressive performances – three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown against Nebraska, and six for 103 and two scores against Tennessee.
The counterargument, provided by Stefan Krajisnik, suggests Smith’s physical health might be the more critical factor: “Originally you see the match if you’re like, ‘Oh, they’re about to face a motivated JJ.’ It’s like, I don’t know what what if they just have to face a healthy JJ. Like maybe the motivation part doesn’t really matter that much.”
This perspective recognizes that Smith’s baseline level of talent, when unhindered by injury, might be enough to dominate regardless of emotional state.
What makes Smith particularly dangerous is that Miami won’t have to face just one version – they’ll be confronting both. A physically healthy Smith who can fully tap into his extraordinary athleticism, combined with the chip-on-shoulder mentality that has fueled him throughout his career.
For a player who once boldly stated he considers himself open even when covered by an entire defense, the combination of physical and emotional readiness might be the perfect storm heading into the most important game of his collegiate career so far.
As Ohio State fans have come to learn, an angry Jeremiah Smith tends to produce remarkable results. Now that he’s healthy too, the Hurricanes’ defense faces an imposing challenge when they line up against him on New Year’s Eve.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
